Bought a house, but it turns out it has already been sold?

In Spain, a booking contract doesn’t provide certainty when buying a house. Only after the preliminary purchase contract is signed does that happen. Read below why.

My purchased house in Spain turns out to have been sold earlier

It happens quite often, unfortunately... You think you’ve bought a house, but it turns out it has still been sold. How is that possible?

When you and the seller agree on the offer made, you reserve a house. You then sign a reservation contract and, in general, pay € 3000—a sum that is deducted from the purchase price. But what exactly does this reservation contract involve?

The seller removes the property from the market and marks the home as “reserved” on the websites where it’s offered for sale. Only if the selling party receives a better offer during the period before the preliminary purchase contract is signed may they accept it. The reservation fee is refunded to you, but your dream house isn’t yours. And that’s frustrating!

Doubts about buying the property

Conversely, if you, as the buyer, decide not to go through with the purchase, you lose the reservation fee. Unless there are clearly agreed-upon reasons in advance for not proceeding with the purchase. For example, if you don’t yet know whether you’ll be able to secure financing and the condition subject to mortage is included in the reservation contract. In that case, you get the money back if the financing doesn’t work out.

So there’s a fundamental difference between “reserving” and “buying.” In Spain, a house is generally listed for sale with more than one real estate agent, so another agent can still sell the property even though it’s been reserved. Fortunately, most sellers are loyal and won’t sell to another party, but unfortunately it does happen.

When do you have certainty that the house is yours?

After the reservation contract is signed, there’s a period (generally three weeks) in which the property is checked by a lawyer. If everything is in order, the preliminary purchase contract is signed and you pay 10% of the purchase price. After this deposit and once both parties have signed, the seller can no longer sell the property to other parties. Provided that they refund the deposit in duplicate. And that will generally not be the case.

Difference between the reservation contract and the preliminary purchase contract

So there’s a fundamental difference between a reservation contract and a preliminary purchase contract. The problem of a reserved property being sold occurs more often when the buyer uses financing. This process takes a bit more time and sometimes makes a seller impatient. Because the seller’s home is generally listed with more than one agent, there’s a risk that they’ll switch to another—sometimes better—offer.

Good guidance when buying a house

When I inform my clients about the buying process in Spain, I always share this information. Good contact with the selling party can prevent this kind of disappointment, but it’s no guarantee. It also shows that the buying process in Spain is very different from the process in the Netherlands. So good guidance is of great importance.

Want to know more about this? Feel free to contact me, because I’d be happy to tell you more. Read more about how I handle a process. Or contact me directly, because I’d be happy to tell you more.